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"The school is an inclusive and welcoming environment where pupils are well supported to strengthen their learning and well-being." Ofsted 2018
Special Education Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)
At Allen Edwards, we want all of our children, regardless of their additional needs, to access the best possible education for them as individuals, which enables them to meet their full-potential. We aim to enable every child to become the very best they can be by nurturing and encouraging their individual strengths and interests, whilst giving them opportunities to learn new and exciting things in a safe and secure learning environment. We have high expectations and aspirations for all of our children and ensure that the provision that we put in place provides the building blocks for our children to achieve their goals and be prepared for their futures.
How is the school physically accessible to children with SEND? | Support from Professionals - Speech & Language, Music Therapy, Art Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Educational Psychologist
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
At Allen Edwards Primary School, we are committed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and have achieved our Gold accreditation through the dedicated work that our community has committed to and will continue to do. We strive to ensure that we are fulfilling the rights of all children by providing them with an inclusive environment where they feel safe and confident enabling them to reach their full potential and prepare them for an ever-changing world.
Article 2
Non-Discrimination
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At Allen Edwards, children, staff, parents and governors guarantee that children are not discriminated against because of their abilities. All staff work closely together to ensure that strategies and interventions are in place to support children so that they can achieve their full potential and can access a curriculum that allows them to flourish.
Article 6
Life, Survival and Development
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At Allen Edwards, children, staff, parents and governors ensure that we provide a tailored curriculum that meets the needs of all children so that all children develop to their full potential.
Article 23
Children with a Disability
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At Allen Edwards, children, staff, parents and governors work tirelessly to increase our children’s independence, promote skills that will allow all of our children to develop to their full potential and treat every child with the dignity that they deserve.
Article 29
Goals of Education
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At Allen Edwards, children, staff, parents and governors recognise that every child has talents and abilities that need to be encouraged and developed.
Who helps my children in school?
Who are the best people to talk to at Allen Edwards about my child’s difficulties with learning/ Special Educational Needs/Disability (SEND)?
How can I talk to them about my child if I need to?
Class teacher
We would always recommend that your child’s class teacher is the first point of contact if you have any concerns.
Your child’s Class Teacher is responsible for:
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Ensuring that all children have access to good/outstanding teaching and a curriculum which, where necessary, is adapted to meet your child’s individual needs (also known as personalisation or differentiation).
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Observing and assessing the progress of your child, and identifying, planning and delivering any additional help your child may need (this could be things like targeted work, additional support, adapting resources etc.)
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Offering advice, encouragement and strategies to your child in order to encourage them to work independently.
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Meeting with the Inclusion Team to discuss any support needed.
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Meeting with Therapists and outside agencies to ensure that all children’s needs are met.
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Ensuring that all members of staff working with your child in school are aware of your child’s individual needs and/or conditions and what specific adjustments need to be made to enable them to be fully included and make progress.
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Ensuring that all staff working with your child in school are supported in delivering the planned work/ programme for your child, in order that they can make the best possible progress. This may involve the use of additional adults, outside specialist help and tailored learning and resources.
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Ensuring that the school’s SEND Policy is followed for all the pupils in their class with any SEND.
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Liaising with the Inclusion Team to discuss the progress of the pupils in their class with SEND and, where relevant, to draft and review any Focused or Individual Target Plans. These will be discussed with parents at least once each term. Where appropriate, these will also be discussed with the child.
The Inclusion Team
The Inclusion Team at Allen Edwards is made up of Miss Nicola Harris (Assistant Head teacher for Inclusion); Ms Claire Harvey (SENCO) and our Learning Mentors.
They are responsible for:
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Observations and assessments of children who have been identified as having difficulties within their learning and/or development.
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Co-ordinating and overseeing all the support for children in the school who have Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities (SEND)
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Making any necessary referrals to outside agencies (Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Paediatricians) in order to access assessments or any additional support which may benefit your child.
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Developing the school’s SEND Policy to ensure the most appropriate responses and the highest quality provision, tailored to meet the individual needs of children in school with SEND.
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Working with you, your child and their class teacher (and any other relevant adults) to try to identify and overcome any barriers to your child’s learning.
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Making sure that you are:
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Fully involved in supporting your child’s learning
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Informed about any additional support that is available for your child.
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Kept informed about the support your child is receiving.
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Involved in reviewing your child’s progress
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Involved in compiling a profile of your child and their specific needs.
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Liaising with all the other people who may be coming into school to help support your child’s learning e.g. Speech and Language Therapy Service, Educational Psychology etc.
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Updating the school’s SEND record of need (a system for ensuring all the special educational, physical and sensory needs of pupils in this school are known and understood) and making sure that there are up to date records of your child’s progress and needs.
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Providing specialist support for teachers and support staff in the school to enable them to help your child (and all other pupils in the school with SEND) to achieve their potential.
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Supporting your child’s class teacher to write Focused or Individual Target Plans that specify the personal targets set for your child to achieve.
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Working with you, the Class Teacher (and any other supporting adults) and, if appropriate, your child, to draft a SEND Support Plan, where it is considered necessary.
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Preparing an Education, Health and Care Plan where needed.
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Organising training for staff so they are aware of, and confident about, how to meet the needs of your child and others within our school.
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Developing a whole approach to supporting children with Autism.
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Creating a SEND friendly, consistent learning environment across school that supports the children to manage their needs both physically and emotionally.
The Inclusion Team can be contacted by: speaking to them at the end of a school day to arrange an appointment at a mutually convenient time; by emailing directly nharris@allenedwards.lambeth.sch.uk or charvey@allenedwards.lambeth.sch.uk; by telephoning the school office and leaving a message on
020 7622 3985 or by sending a message on DOJO.
Additional Adults
Additional adults are responsible for:
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Working with a pupil or group of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or may provide specialist support in a particular area, for example speech and language.
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Leading and supporting the activities of the larger group, whilst the Class Teacher is the adult in the 1:1 or small group setting. The class teacher and Inclusion Team are fully involved in any support offered and make the decisions, in conjunction with the parents, on the type of support and interventions offered. It is their role to then direct additional adults to provide the support and interventions that allow your child to access an inclusive, tailored education.
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Liaising with therapists e.g. S and L therapist, to receive training and targets so that specialised interventions can be carried out to support your child.
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Following and reviewing focused and individual intervention plans alongside the class teacher.
Additional adults will be able to feedback to you regarding specific interventions. Please liaise with the class teacher to arrange to speak with them.
Therapist and Outreach Workers
Therapists and outreach workers are responsible for:
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Supporting the Inclusion Team and class teachers to set targets for children with SEND.
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Working with children in school with specific needs to ensure interventions are in place to support their need.
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Training staff so that they can carry out specific interventions to support the needs of the children e.g. Lego Therapy.
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Attend Annual Review and Multi-disciplinary meetings to share information so that we are providing the best possible care for every child at Allen Edwards.
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Observing lessons and providing feedback to staff to support the provision for all children in school and children with specific needs.
Therapists can be contacted via the assistant head teacher for Inclusion at nharris@allenedwards.lambeth.sch.uk
The Headteacher
The Headteacher at Allen Edwards is Mrs Louise Robertson. She is responsible for:
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The day-to-day management of all aspects of the school, this includes the support for children with SEND. She delegates responsibility to the Inclusion Team and class teachers but is still responsible for ensuring that your child’s needs are met and that they make the best possible progress.
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Alongside the Inclusion Team, she ensures that the Governing Body is kept up to date about all issues in the school relating to SEND.
The headteacher can be contacted via: a personal request made before school in the playground; by telephoning the school for an appointment or by email: office@allenedwards.lambeth.sch.uk
The Governors
The Link Governor for SEND at Allen Edwards is Vaila McClure and she is responsible for:
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Review SEND provision including staff and other resourcing.
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Understand how the SEND notional budget is used and what impact it has on the progress and attainment of learners. In order to ensure these reviews are conducted in a robust and critical way, governing bodies should consider their expertise in the SEND area as part of governor recruitment or seek external advice during these meetings.
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Monitoring the SEND notional budget and what impact that spending has had on Learner progress and attainment
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Revise and update the school’s SEND information report to reflect the changing nature of your SEND cohort
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Acting as the champion for children with SEND and inclusion needs.
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Ensuring that the school is fulfilling its duties to children with SEND.
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Undertaking the required training, including school-specific induction with the SENCo
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Meeting the SENCo in the Autumn, Spring and Summer terms as a minimum
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Asking questions and raising awareness relating to SEND and inclusion provision at Governing Body meetings
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Working with the assistant head teacher for Inclusion and SENCo to produce a SEND Annual Report to Governors
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Confirming that the school’s duties have been fulfilled
The Link Governor for SEND can be contacted by: office@allenedwards.lambeth.sch.uk who will direct the email onto the governors.
How might my child be supported in school?
Children in school will get support that is specific to their individual needs. This may be provided entirely by the class teacher and the Inclusion Team or may involve staff from outside agencies to provide specialist support. Where this is deemed appropriate you will be informed for consent, your views and concerns.
What are the different types of support available for all children, children with SEND concerns and children with SEND?
Types of support provided
What would this mean for your child?
Who can get this support?
Wave 1
Our Universal Offer:
Quality First Teaching
Quality first teaching is in place including highly differentiated teaching strategies targeting child’s area of need & removing barriers to learning. Teachers have high expectations, set aspirational targets, give purposeful feedback & set appropriate homework. They liaise with school staff and professionals with areas of expertise.
Staff inform parents of any concerns, track progress & feedback to parents at a parents evening, in reports or in an additional meeting. Plan next steps, recording actions taken and impact: what works well / not so well.
All children at Allen Edwards Primary School
Wave 2
Small group/individual interventions.
Class teacher uses assessments to inform next steps/areas of weakness & strength/unmet needs. Monitored at pupil progress meetings. Children’s progress is monitored through termly pupil progress meetings with our leadership team to ensure no child fails to meet their full potential.
Additional intervention for children not meeting expected progress or attainment.
Wave 3
Focused Support
Class teacher and the inclusion team meet to discuss the child and the needs that they are presenting. A focused plan is written and shared with all adults involved. This is reviewed each term and a copy will be provided to parents. Parents are met with to discuss the schools concerns and the possibility of their child moving onto the SEND Register if the Implementation of rigorous interventions within the classroom does not support the child. Specialist may be consulted, with parental consent, for their professional opinion and guidance to support the child.
SEND Inclusion Funding requested from Lambeth.
For children we want to monitor more closely to support special educational needs that have become apparent.
Wave 4
Focused Support
The class teacher and Inclusion Team monitors the impact of interventions and reviews targets set on the focused plan to ensure that the child is making progress from their starting point.
The continuation of rigorous interventions within the classroom as required using entry and exit data to evaluate impact. Specialist interventions with OT and Speech and Language therapist.
Children who are on the school’s SEND register
Wave 5
Individual Target Plans
Class teacher and the Inclusion Team create an individual support plan to include: small step targets to achieve outcomes, strategies, time allocation & resources in line with the four areas of need in the EHCP plan:
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Communication and interaction
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Cognition and learning
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Social, mental and emotional heath
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Sensory and physical
Plans to be revised, revisit and refined each term to support the application of an Educational Health Care Plan referral. Highly differentiated tasks within the classroom and specialist interventions to support the children to reach their full potential.
We will meet with you each term to review and set new targets. Assessments will be undergone by professionals such as EP or the Autism Outreach Worker to support the children in school and to create reports to support the EHCP request.
Child who are undergoing the SEND Support cycles in preparation for an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP).
Wave 6
Individual Target Plans
Individual support plans are created by the class teacher and Inclusion team using the long term outcomes from the EHCP and the short term targets from the plan to ensure a tailored curriculum and support is provided for your child that meets the requirements of the EHCP.
We will meet with you each term to review and set new targets.
There will be an Annual Review to discuss your child’s progress against targets set in their Annual Review.
Multi-disciplinary meetings will be held bi-annually to ensure that all professionals working with your children have the opportunity to share insight so that the provision for your child is constantly monitored and improving.
Children with an EHCP.
In additional to our whole school offer set out above, there are also additional provisions in place to meet the needs of particular children with Educational Health Care Plans and ensure that the learning environment and teaching is further tailored to meet their needs.
Mainstream Plus
Nurture Class
Specific children, who have more complex high needs and benefit from a school group setting to support them to access the curriculum and manage their emotional needs, are taught in our Nurture Class. The children in this provision are working significantly below age related expectations and require social and emotional support throughout the day to develop their independence and allow for them to emotionally regulate. The learning in this classroom is tailored to meet the specific needs of each child with 121 and small group interventions throughout the day.
Our Nurture Classroom is made up of children within our school community.
Specialist Provision within a Mainstream School
Autism Resource Base
Our Autism Spectrum Conditions Base opens in January and will currently support children from reception through to year 1. The age range will expand as we open a second classroom in the future. There are currently 6 placements in the base. For children to meet the criteria for the base, they must have a diagnosis of Autism and have an EHCP.
Our resource base aims to support children who have an education, health and care plan, who will benefit from additional specialist support in order to achieve full inclusion in mainstream school and access the curriculum at a level that meets their needs, whilst offering specific therapeutic services and provision that develops their social, emotional and independence needs allowing them to thrive in a mainstream school.
For further information about the base, contact the Assistant Head Teacher for Inclusion, Nicola Harris via email: nharris@allenedwards.lambeth.sch.uk
To apply for a place for your child in the Autism Base, you will need to go through Lambeth SEND Admissions and can find out more by visiting:
https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/send-local-offer/education/special-schools-and-resource-bases-in-lambeth or consulting with your child’s current school, who will support you to apply.
How will you support your child with transitions?
When starting at Allen Edwards:
If your child has been allocated a place in our school by the local authority and they have a special education need or disability, please contact us as soon as you receive the offer as we may not have details of their needs at this stage.
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We will invite you to visit the school with your child to have a look around, meet the Inclusion Team and ask questions about our school's provision.
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If other professionals are involved, a Team around the Child (TAC) transition meeting will be held or contact will be made with these professionals to discuss your child’s needs, share strategies used and ensure necessary provision is put in place before your child's admission.
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In the nursery and reception, staff will offer a Home Visit prior to your child's admission.
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If your child is already attending a school or nursery, a member of the Inclusion Team and, where possible, the class teacher will visit your child in their current setting.
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We may suggest adaptations to provision, to help your child to settle more easily but these will be agreed between you and the staff at the TAC transition meeting.
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If they have not already visited, your child will be invited into school in advance of starting, to meet the staff they will be working with and their peer group. This may include a staggered start approach if we deem it appropriate.
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Following the settling in period, the class teacher will arrange an early meeting with you to review your child’s settling, learning and progress.
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Targets will then be completed for your child and provision put in place to support them. You will be involved in discussion around this at every stage. The staff will have regular contact with you to monitor the progress of your child and invite you into school at least once a term to review this with you.
When moving classes in school:
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Children will be provided with a social story including photos of the adult that they are working with to prepare them for the change.
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Whenever possible, you will be invited to meet with the new teacher before the move takes place.
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A planning meeting will take place with the new teacher. Support plans will be shared with the new teacher. o If your child would be helped by a book to support them understand ‘moving on’ then it will be made for them.
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Staff working with your child will meet with The Inclusion Team to discuss support needed and have an opportunity to read through all appropriate paperwork pertaining to your child.
In Year 6:
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Our Inclusion Team will discuss the specific needs of your child with the SENCO of their secondary school.
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Your child will be involved in specific activities to support their understanding of the changes ahead. This may include creating a transition booklet, which includes information about themselves for their new school.
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Where possible your child will visit their new school on several occasions and, whenever possible, staff from the new school will visit your child in this school.
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Where children have an EHC Plan, the process of transition will begin at the Year 5 annual review with consideration of the secondary setting that may be most suitable for the child. A planned transition programme will then be implemented throughout Year 6 to support children to feel ready for the move. The Secondary SENCo and Head of Year 7 will be invited to a child’s Year 6 Annual Review.
How is the school physically accessible to children with SEND?
We ensure that we adapt the physical surroundings of the school to meet the needs of children within our care.
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Where appropriate, specialised equipment is available to meet the individual needs of all children on-roll.
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Members of staff have undergone a range of training in order to meet the children's varied needs.
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Individual workstations and specialised spaces are provided to meet the needs of individual children where specialists have identified this as beneficial.
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A toilet for those that need specific access arrangement is available on every floor.
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Medical areas are available for First Aid needs.
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After school provision is accessible to all children including those with SEND.
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A lift is available to allow access to all areas of the building.
Support from Professionals
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Weekly Music Therapy with our trained music therapist, Sarah Howden.
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Weekly Speech and Language Therapy sessions, staff training and target reviews with our SALT, Beth Davis.
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Weekly Art Therapy sessions with Art4Space.
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Educational Psychologist.
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Lambeth Autism Advisory Service teacher, Edyta Zjawiony.
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Occupational Therapy.
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Physio Therapy
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School Nurse
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Mentoring Programme through Kid’s Network
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAHMS)
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Early Help
What is Speech and Language Therapy?
Speech and language therapy supports children to communicate whilst supporting them to develop their speech and language skills. Our speech and language therapists (SLT) work alongside our staff delivering training, assessing children’s needs, developing targets, supporting interventions as well as 121 or small group support with the children on their caseload. They will also work closely with parents providing drop in sessions, targets and advice where needed. In school, we work with the NHS Speech and Language Team and True Voices, who are private speech and language therapists. Beth Davis is our speech and language therapist for the resource base and she is in for 1 day a week.
In the resource base and across school, our SLT helps with a range of different speech and language needs:
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Understanding: using and understanding language in social situations.
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Verbal skills: understanding and using spoken language.
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Non-verbal skills: communicating using signs and gestures, body language, turn-taking
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Expressive skills: getting a message across, verbally or non-verbally
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Comprehension or receptive skills: understanding of spoken language and sign
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Voice skills: controlling volume, quality and pitch
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Speech: pronouncing sounds and words
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Literacy: developing an awareness of letter-sounds and language skills that are specifically related to reading, spelling and to understanding written text.
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Attention and listening: developing strategies to increase attention and focus to support the children with their understanding.
Speech and language interventions are used across school as part of our Universal Offer for all children to support them with learning in their own classes; targeted interventions for those children who do not have an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) but have been identified by staff as needing further support in one of the areas outlined above or as part of the SLT’s caseload as per the requirements of their individual EHCP.
Speech and Language Interventions that you may hear your child’s teacher discuss with you:
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Lego Therapy: supporting children with their turn taking and social skills
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Zones of Regulation: supports emotional regulation and understanding of children’s own emotions and those of others.
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Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS): communicating through pictures to support early language development in children with SEND. This is used across school where appropriate. In addition to the PECS used specifically for some children, visuals accompany displays throughout the school building and on signs to enable children to access all areas of the school.
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Other interventions used include: Word Wanderers, Terrific Talkers, Higher Level Questioning, Conversations and Colour Semantics.
What is Music Therapy?
At Allen Edwards, we have a Music Therapist, Sarah Howden, who joins our staff for one day a week. Sarah has worked at Allen Edwards for many years and has supported lots of children in their journey at Allen Edwards.
We use Music Therapy to support children’s communication and language skills and social and emotional needs. Music Therapy draws on music to support children with initial language and spontaneous sound making. Music Therapy is also a great support for our children with emotional needs as it often provides a distraction for the mind allowing the children to process trauma and develop lifelong strategies that will support them to regulate their emotions.
What is Art Therapy?
We have worked closely with Art4Space, who are a local charity that provide Art therapy for children in Lambeth. They us art as a media of expression and communication. Art is used to support children with emotional regulation and processing to allow them to access home and school life more positively. Art Therapy is also a great way for children to relax and develop social skills in small group environments.
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy (OT) supports children who have physical, sensory or cognitive needs. It supports children to develop life skills that allow them to become more independent and carry out daily tasks that they might find difficult.
This might include support to help with:
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Eating
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Washing
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Using the toilet
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Fine or gross motor
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Playing
Often children with autism present with motor, perceptual or sensory challenges. They may be oversensitive to touch, noise or sound. Their attention and behaviour can be affected by these physical or sensory challenges.
Occupational Therapists provide specialist assessments to identify the underlying difficulties impacting on your child's function (for example motor, sensory or perceptual skills). They will then provide therapeutic intervention and recommend appropriate strategies to help children overcome these difficulties working closely with school staff and families so they are supporting all aspects of the child’s life to enable them to be as successful as can be.
In school, we use the Evelina Occupational Therapy Pack to support children in our Universal Offer. If the child needs more support, we will make a referral to the Evelina Team after discussions with parents. We also buy in days with an occupational therapist to support children with EHCPs in school.
What does an educational psychologist do?
We commission an educational psychologist (EP) to work together with children, parents and staff as well as other professionals to support school based interventions for the children to help them to make progress. This work usually focuses on consultation, assessment and intervention.
If we feel that your child would benefit from an assessment from the educational psychologist, we would arrange a meeting with you and the EP, the EP would meet with your child’s teacher and observe your child in class. They will then write a report outlining their findings and recommendations that we will then implement in school. This assessment may also be used to support an EHCP application.
We are constantly evolving the therapeutic work that we do at Allen Edwards and looking for new ways to support your children to thrive. If you think that there is a therapy or intervention that you think your child would benefit from, please come and speak with a member of the Inclusion Team and we will discuss this further with you.
What is the Lambeth Autism Advisory Service?
At Allen Edwards, our Autism Advisory Teacher is Edyta Zjawiony. She has worked here for several years and has a strong relationship with our children, parents and staff.
She provides support in schools for staff to develop a greater understanding of autism and to empower staff to apply good practice. We aim to have an Autism Friendly environment across school so she reviews our universal offer as well as working with our Autistic children in school to provide support, advice and strategies to promote independence and help them reach their full potential
Here are some Autism Friendly Strategies used in school:
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TEACCH
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PECS
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Social Stories
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Work Stations
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Visual timetables
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Whole school behaviour policy linked to Red and Green Choices
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Communicate in Print labelling across school
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All staff have Attention Autism training with Gina Davis
